Fae
Overview Etymology and Definition Content Here History Content Here Characteristics Their diets are meat-heavy, as can be guessed by a look at their fox-like teeth. Deer, boars, elk, wild horses and oxen are usually hunted or trapped, while snares are set for rabbits, hares, squirrels, rats, weasels and martens, beavers, marmots and even wolves. Arrows and nets are used to take all kinds of birds, and fish-traps are used to capture any fish unlucky enough to come down their rivers. To supplement this, wild grains, tubers and root vegetables, grains, mushrooms and fruit are gathered, forming between 20% and 60% of the average faery's diet. In short, if it lives, a faery will eat it - but they are very careful to look at the big picture, preventing over-exploitation of a stock. Behaviour Content Here Language Content Here Gender Roles Content Here Spirituality and Religion Content Here Art, Music and Literature Content Here Society, Government and Politics Content Here Warfare Due to the long lives and long reproductive cycles of Fae, intertribal warfare and personal conflicts are avoided as much as possible. For a fae to die in combat or from wounds may deprive the tribe of two hundred years or more of life and experience, and is considered by all fae folk to be a horrifying loss. Therefore, there is little that they care for more than the lives of their kin - even those from conflicting tribes. "Battles" between rival tribes are usually the result of a breakdown in diplomacy that may have been several years of the making, and in any case are almost always accomplished via considerable manoeuvring, play and counter-play, followed by shows of strength and skirmishing until one side yields. Fighting between rival tribes usually involves shields, bows, bolas, clubs and tomahawks, and while fae are commonly wounded (and even maimed) as a result of these skirmishes, it is exceedingly rare for them to be killed. If a Faery should be killed in intertribal conflict, the loss is usually mourned by both sides. Warfare against other races is a different matter altogether, but the attempts to preserve fae lives at all costs are maintained. To consider how a fae war party would make war with humans or orcs, consider how humans would make war with a pack of wolves: they consider themselves above their opponent, and can use their reptilian patience and limitless cunning to outmanoeuvre the prey, only engaging when victory is assured. This lends them exceptionally well to guerrilla warfare, and particularly to fighting in the enormous woods, scrubland and marshes that make up their homes. Fae have not clashed with the army of the Divine Empire of Man for many centuries, but brigands and marauders hiding in their woods meet grisly ends with almost total certainty. When hunting orcs, the tactics of a hunter are employed - not those of a warrior. For the fae, it is extermination, not battle, so it is common to see a variety of tactics which leverage the Fae's superior patience and experience, while avoiding physical confrontation, such as: * bow-hunting from deerback * slaughtering herds to drive orcs to desperation or starve them * the use of bolas and nets, accompanied by long spears * harrying for many weeks with darts, arrows and poison * digging traps or setting snares * pulling tribes apart and baiting pursuit * burning settlements in the night * sniper attacks * goading orc tribes into fighting one another * hunting from deerback with wolves and hawks * stealthily "vanishing" orcs over the course of several weeks * poisoning water sources After killing an orc, the head is collected to provide the tally required by Imperial inspectors. Technology and Body Culture The primary constraint on Fae technology is their belief that nothing should ever be done which leaves a permanent mark on the earth. This means that while many technologies, such as weaving, stone-knapping, woodworking and pottery are available, many more, like metalworking, mining, masonry, clearing woodland for farmland and the selective breeding of animals are forbidden. Different fae tribes have different ways of living, depending on their territories and resources. Many of those from the deep woods have raised wolf cubs, hawk chicks and fawns from near birth, abducting a new generation every time one is required rather than selectively breeding them, so as to avoid permanently changing the world. These animal allies are therefore a little unreliable, but thanks to the immense experience of their handlers and the advantages provided by wild stock, this unreliability does not largely bother them. Woodwork is common among the fae tribes, and indeed their trademark blank masks are always carved from exquisite woods and finished to fit perfectly against the unique face of the wearer. Some ability with lacquer is apparent, as Broken-Mask's mask, once shattered by Zul, is repaired with black lacquer, creating a striking effect against the bone-white of the wood. Most forest fae dwellings, tools and furniture is made from wood, with many tribes displaying distinctive woodworking styles and many master craftsmen showing skill far surpassing human or orc masters, despite their lack of metal tools. Clothing Clothing is largely woven from plant fibres and treated animal skins. The intention is to create something that will decay with its wearer, and which will not mark the land, so complex dyes and metal fixtures are out. Wooden, fibrous or bone fastenings, natural colourings, or greens, reds and blues from ochre and plant-based woads and dyes are common. When hunting, camouflage is always worn. Dwellings and Settlements Dwellings can usually be divided along the material used to construct it - some forest fae prefer to use untreated wood to make small log cabins, thatched or roofed with wooden tiles or animal hides. Animal-skin tipis and yurts are common in more open areas, while fae of open plains or peat bogland will usually make small circular huts from the dense earth beneath them, cut into blocks and carefully destroyed and put back into the ground when done. Food No permanent farming can be accomplished, but the fae do still supplement their hunting and gathering with some "guerrilla agriculture" - tending small crops of wild garlic, root vegetables and grains which are encouraged to grow wild and occasionally checked-up-on. Similarly, wild fowl usually wander into fae villages in search of food and are quite difficult to get rid of, essentially domesticating themselves. Food is prepared in clay pots or jugs, in earthenware ovens or over coals, and meat is sometimes buried with rocks from a fire to slow-roast it. The use of wild herbs is common, and several kinds of meat are often eaten together in one meal. Fae tend to eat a small meal at dawn, and a much larger one at dusk. Water Fae understand the importance of boiling water, but they have strong constitutions well used to the river water of their homelands, and can usually drink without fear. Water is collected in clay pots and urns, or in hide waterskins. Due to their rule on permanently scarring the land, wells are never dug - water must always be collected from the source. Some fae use animal hides weighted with stones to collect rainwater - a stone in the centre to lower that point, with a few small holes and a pot underneath with cause the water to collect below. Transport Transport is usually accomplished on foot, as no roads can be cut through the forest and no paths cleared, but game trails sometimes form unofficial "faery roads" through their territory. If a fae is lucky, they will have a deer to ride, or a forest pony, or, if they live close to a waterway, they will be able to take a canoe. Large wooden canoes capable of carrying up to a dozen fae and cargo are common on the water, but small hide canoes are more frequently seen darting up and down the river like pondskaters, carrying one or two passengers as they go about their day-to-day duties. These light, streamlined hide canoes are also ideal for use as message-carriers between the tribes, due to their high speed. Communication Communication between fae of the same tribe is accomplished using either their spoken language or, on the hunt, using a well-developed sign language. Within the woods or on the plains, gargantuan drums are hammered to the rhythms of war or warning, carrying emergency messages over miles, while away from the trees, smoke-signals may also be used to convey messages. It is common to see markings carved into the outer bark of trees, where it will not harm the tree, like signposting an area - although this is usually for the benefit of young or stranger fae, or is used to signal the location of war parties or hazards in times of danger, or carry specific messages, as adult fae usually know their territory off by heart and have no need of signposting. Weaponry and War-Gear The most distinctive feature of Faery weaponry is the lack of any kind of metal - wood, stone and bone are always used instead. Strong animal-based glues, lashings and expert woodwork and stonework ensure the weapons are exquisitely crafted and very strong, and they are always excellent examples of their kind. The primary equipment of a fae war party is dependent on their enemy - if it is another fae war party, large wooden and hide shields are taken, along with hardwood war-clubs, usually curved with a wooden or stone head and a single flint or bone spike on the front. Spears tipped with flint and obsidian blades, stone or bone knives, tomahawks, cudgels, obsidian-bladed macahuitl and other slashing weapons are popular in close quarters. The primary weapon of any war party is the shortbow, which is always backed with horn and recurved for maximum power. Exquisitely-crafted arrows are fired, with obsidian tips or flint points, spiral fletching and bone nocks to prevent shattering under the force of the bowstring, and, when fighting humans or orcs, these arrows are commonly poisoned with toxic concoctions perfected over hundreds of years to cause rapid death. As well as this deadly weapon, almost every faery will carry a net or set of bolas to entangle their prey, leaving them vulnerable to a follow-up strike. When on the warpath, fae hunters wear their masks, subsuming themselves into the will of the people and presenting their enemy with an implacable foe, impervious to fear, pain or mercy. They also wear camouflaged clothing and paint their skin underneath with woad in swirling patterns believed to bring luck. Sometimes, wooden or reinforced leather armour is worn, but against orcs it is generally considered to be worse than useless, slowing the wearer down and tiring them out faster without providing any protection against the crushing strikes of the enemy. Therefore, stealth and manoeuvrability is the preferred protection. Wherever possible, the fae will strike from ambush, or draw the enemy onto prepared ground. Their strength is in their patience and experience, and they leverage it at every opportunity. If they cannot, they will retreat and try again later. They have time. They can outlast the enemy. Knowledge Each tribe keeps its own history, but the frequent transfer of fae between tribes means that a shared cultural history is widely known throughout the species. Each tribe's central dwelling is occupied by the historian or historians, who are occupied with recording and maintaining the histories - making new paper or wooden plates to transcribe the old as it decays, brewing inks and keeping the oldest histories alive. The long lives of these beings means that their history stretches back a long way - even one generation may span 150 to 200 years, so the historians have plenty to write about. Each tribe has at least one, and in the larger tribes, it is even a full-time job! The historians of smaller groups must content themselves with side jobs as labour assistants, craftsmen or trappers. Notable Fae Groups Broken-Mask's Hunters Notable Fae Broken-Mask See Also The Divine Empire of Man Orcs The Faewild